


Filling the gap of pain with life

by willowmellontree



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Temporary Character Death, Chameleon Arch (Doctor Who), Doctor Who References, M/M, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, Series 03 Fix-It: Children of Earth (Torchwood), Team TARDIS, Time Travel, Torchwood References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25366435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowmellontree/pseuds/willowmellontree
Summary: Just after the events of 'Children of Earth', Jack goes to Ianto's flat and finds a pocket watch.Not just any old Pocket watch though. It's a Gallifreyan Fob watch.This gives Jack hope but he needs help so he finds an old friend.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85





	1. Gallifreyan Fob Watch.

Ianto Jones. Born 19th August 1983, age 26. Savour of the world and a fantastic kisser. 

Jack put down his drink and buried his head in his hands. It had only been a few hours since the whole 456 thing was over and he had gone straight to a bar on the other side of the universe to drown his sorrows. He stayed there for another few hours before he had enough and teleported into the living room of Ianto's flat. Silently, he stepped forward towards the nearest bookshelf and picked up one of the photo frames. It was a picture of himself and Ianto just a few months back after the Daleks tried to take the earth. Gwen had taken the picture when neither of them was facing the camera. They were looking at each other with eyes full of adoration. 

A tear fell down his face, and he wiped it away but more came. Jack sunk down to the floor, still holding onto the photograph and cried until the sun rose. 

Jack woke up, still clutching the picture with a tear-stained face. He stood up and went to the bathroom to wash up since he was in a mess. He was turning the tap on letting it run a few moments before cupping water in his hands and splashing it on his face. 

Walking back into the living room, Jack went to put the picture of him and Ianto back on the shelf, but something else caught his eye. A silver watch. Jack held his breath as he grabbed it and looked at the front. It wasn't just any old watch, it was a Gallifreyan fob watch, and the sight of it gave Jack a tiny speck of hope.

The question was, what the hell was he supposed to do with it? I mean Ianto was... It doesn't matter. He would work something out. Jack pocketed the watch and set his vortex manipulator to teleport sometime in the past so he could find the one person he needed to help him. The Doctor. 

Jack landed in the middle of a street, which looked like London. He saw a flapping newspaper on the ground and picked it up. The date was the 19th of August 2008. Jack sighed. Ianto's 25th Birthday. He remembered it like it was yesterday...

_...Ianto walked into the hub to find it covered in birthday banners and balloons._

_"I'm not a child." He protested, and Jack came up from behind him and planted a kiss on the side of his neck._

_"Blame Gwen. She got bored, but I might have let it slip it was your birthday today..._

Jack pushed the memory back as it hurt too much. He made his way down the street to try and pinpoint exactly where he was. It didn't take him long to find the name of the place. 

Jones Street. What a coincidence. 

Jack put his hands in his pockets and carried on walking until he worked out how to find the Doctor. He found himself leaning against the wall of an old office block when something ran past him. A few seconds later, another person ran past him; they were wearing a familiar long brown trench coat. Jack grinned and ran along after him, and soon enough, he caught up with him until they were side by side.

The Doctor turned his head in surprise. "Jack?! What are you doing here?" 

"Doctor, I need your help." He told him.

They both continued running. "Is it urgent? I'm kind of in the middle of trying to catch an escaped Mamboleth." 

"Never heard of one of them." Jack Said.

"You wouldn't have. It escaped from a parallel universe. I'll explain later."

They rounded the corner to a dead end where the cornered off Mamboleth crouched down and hissed at them. Jack looked into its eyes. It seemed scared. It was an odd being to look at. It was half-human, half-lion and blue. The Doctor slowly walked towards it and tried to tell it they meant no harm. It didn't speak English, and the Tardis can only translate universal languages, so they had no way to communicate with it. They spent the next hour and a half trying to talk to the Mamboleth and tried to not get eaten in the process, but they managed in the end. They worked out that the creature could speak in pictures so Jack had to go to the nearest shop to buy a drawing pad and a pen just to tell the Mamboleth they could help it. Jack and the Doctor found out it was a ten-year-old multiform called Toefie. It got too close to the crack in the sky, and it got trapped in London Zoo in the snow leopard inclosure. In the end, they managed to get Toefie back home with its family, and they sealed the crack in the sky so no one else could fall in.

Jack and the Doctor found themself in the Tardis kitchen, eating some cake they found in the cupboard. 

"Do you want some coffee?" The Doctor asked him.

Jack shook his head quickly. "No, thanks. I don't drink it."

The Doctor gave him a look. "What do you mean you don't drink it. You drank tons off the stuff last time you were here, and that wasn't that long ago. "

"Not tons of the stuff." Jack sighed. "I don't know if we're on the same page or not, but I only drank coffee last time I was here was because Ianto made it."

The Doctor nodded. "Just after Mr Jones's 25th birthday. Your birthday present to him was to show him the Tardis."

Jack looked into nowhere as he remembered...

_..."Jack, where are we going? Gwen's going to come and look for us in a minute."_

_Jack grinned and took hold of his hand. "It's a surprise Ianto. Just wait for a second, they should be here soon."_

_Precisely ten seconds later, the Tardis materialized in front of them._

_"So Ianto. I called the Doctor earlier on and asked him to do me a favour." Jack told him while still grinning._

_"And that is...?" Ianto started._

_Jack squeezed his hand. "I asked him if I could show you around the Tardis. I did ask if we could go somewhere, but he didn't let me so this is as good as we're going to get."_

_Ianto gave him one of those cute little smiles and kissed him. "Thank you, Jack."_

_"Don't thank me now. You might not like it." Jack said..._

Jack came back to the real world only to find out the Doctor had been calling him for the last two minutes.

"You ok Jack?" The Doctor asked him.

Jack was about to lie and say he was fine before he remembered that he needed help. "No, I'm not. As I said earlier, I need your help."

The Doctor looked at him, uncertainly. "The look you're giving me is telling me that whatever you need help with won't be easy."

Jack gave him a pleading look. "If it weren't important I wouldn't have bothered you." He reached into his pocket and picked out the watch. "I found this in Ianto's flat."

The Doctor took it and waited a few minutes before saying. "This isn't an ordinary Chameleon Arch fob watch. There's something familiar about it, but I can't quite put my finger on it. We should give it back to Ianto and let him decide what he wants to do with it." He looked up at Jack and saw his face. "But I think there's something more to it than that."

Jack knew he had to tell him, but it didn't come out of his mouth when he opened it. "He's...It's...I" Jack took a deep breath, and he felt his eyes tearing up, so he looked away from the Time Lord. "He's dead Doctor." His voice cracked. "Ianto died."

The Doctor went around the table and hugged him. "It's alright, Jack." He said in a soothing voice.

"It's not alright. I never told him..." He didn't say it, but the Doctor knew what he meant.

"I know what you're feeling Jack. I understand every bit of it. It's too late for me, but I think I can save him." He told him.

Jack pulled away. "Really?"

"Yes. In fact, I'm going to promise you that I will get Ianto back." He said. "It must have hurt you a lot. You don't get this upset over anything, but it's ok to cry, Jack."

Jack sighed with hope. "Thank you." He said quietly.

The Doctor nodded. "But first, you need sleep. You look like you've been through hell."

Jack gave a halfhearted laugh. "It was a close thing." They walked out of the kitchen, and the Doctor led him to his old room so he could have a bath and get some sleep. Once Jack had drifted off, The Doctor went to the console room to scan the watch so he could tell exactly what it was.


	2. What's different

Jack awoke sometime later, not knowing how long he'd been asleep. He gazed at the ceiling for a second before slipping out of bed. Then grabbing his coat on his way to see what the Doctor was up to. While trying to take his time but failing dramatically, Jack made his way through the many corridors and finally found himself in the console room. The Doctor was holding the fob watch under a magnifying glass, and he was looking at it in awe. The timelord noticed Jack was standing behind him, so he turned around. "You feeling better now?" He asked.

Jack shrugged. "A bit." He gestured to the Watch. "Are you going to tell me what's so fascinating about the fob watch?"

The Doctor looked at the Watch like he forgot it was in his hands. He held it out to Jack, and the other man took it. "There are three types of Gallifreyan fob watches." He started. "There's the common one, like the one the Master used, that just rewrites the biology of a timelord. It's simple, leaves no mess and the most popular amongst our species. Those use less energy and only has enough power to hide a timelord without a trace."

Jack nodded. "I assume they're less dangerous."

"Yes, exactly." The Doctor told him. "Only trouble with those is that you only need a familiar message or a word that could set it off, and it becomes useless."

"Reminds me of Retcon," Jack announced.

"You use Retcon on people?" The Doctor questioned.

Jack sighed. "It's completely harmless. What about the other two types of fob watch?"

"Right, well, the second type isn't used anymore." The Doctor told him. "Something happened to them a year after they came out into the public which forced the high council to ban and incinerate them."

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Someone changed the design, and anyone who used them got their DNA mutated." The Doctor explained. Jack pulled a face. "And then there's the third type. Only a few of them were made and sent out before the Daleks came and destroyed the factory they were being made in. I thought they all went down with the time war, but I was wrong."

"What does it do Doctor?" Jack asked. He was getting more determined to save his Ianto. 

"I don't know much about it, but from what I've been told, it completely hides the identity of a time lord. Nothing can trip the memory, so it explains why the Tardis didn't jog his memory." The Doctor said." I think there's a different sort of power hidden inside as well, but the Tardis can't detect it."

Jack rubbed his thumb over the Watch. "I assume this is more dangerous." He looked up to the Timelord. "How can it save Ianto?"

The Doctor grinned. "I don't know, but It's a challenge. We might have to cross timelines and do a load of stuff I would normally be against. But I promised you I would save him for you and that's exactly what I'm going to do." He ran around the console and pressed buttons and pulled levers.

Jack crossed his arms and lent against a rail. "Why are you helping me, Doctor?"

"Because you asked." He looked at his friend's face and saw doubt. "Honestly, this is me saying sorry for how I treated you. Running away from you and then calling you wrong is just not how you treat someone."

Jack smiled softly. "Doctor, really it's fine. You can't help it anyway; it's a natural instinct." Fear filled his body. "Wait. What if Ianto suddenly can't stand the sight of me?"

The Doctor gave him a sad look. "It depends on which decade he was brought up in. It depends if he was even brought up in Gallifrey."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked him.

The timelord shifted his hair with his hand. "It's like going to school in 1890 and being compared to going to school in 2020. Children in 1890 were taught about where in society they belong in and in 2020... Wait...2020 is a bad example but do you get the point."

"I think so." He pushed away from the rail. "What happened in 2020?" Jack asked.

The Doctor pulled a face. "Nothing you need to know about." He paused. "You were born in the 51st century Jack. Should you have learnt about 2020 in school?"

Jack shrugged. "They might've covered it. That doesn't mean I turned up to class."

"We're just as bad as each other." The Doctor stated.

"Really?" Jack asked. "I always thought you'd be one of those people that would never even dream about skipping a lesson."

The Doctor smirked. "The Master was the one that always went."

"Woah!" Jack said, and he sighed. "Changing the subject, who didn't you get to say I love you too?"

"Oh, a few people." He told him.

Jack saw a flash of emptiness in the Doctors eyes. "Anyone I'd know?" He asked.

The Doctor took the Watch from Jack and put it under a scanner. "Rose. She knows now, though. My family back on Gallifrey. The Master..."

"Really?" Jack asked.

"Mmhmm. We were young and complete idiots. I lied to him, and it broke his heart, and he never forgave me." The Doctor told him just as the Tardis beeped. The Doctor jumped to work and put coordinates into the Tardis. "Are you ready, Jack?"

"Yes," Jack told him. "What's the plan. If you have one?"

"Of course, I have a plan." The Doctor said. "A mission as dangerous as this needs a plan. What we need to do is try and get Ianto to open it before his funeral and after he dies."

"How is he going to do that?" Jack asked. "He's dead."

"Hang on; I was getting to that." The Doctor said. "Anyway, the Tardis worked it out. You need to help him."

"Explain?" Jack told him.

The Doctor held the Watch up. "The power in this needs memory and touch to get it to open. Ideally, it would be easier if Ianto was alive, but we can work with what we have."

The Tardis took off, and both of them held onto the console. They landed a few minutes later, and Jack felt nervous. He never wanted to see Ianto being dead ever again. He knew he would have to if he wanted to see him alive also but to be honest, Jack was terrified. Anything could go wrong or even worse, Ianto might not want anything to do with Jack anymore. "Where are we?" He asked.

"The Great Gallifrey Archives." The Doctor replied as he went out of the Tardis. Jack followed. "I know how much you want to go to Ianto now, but we need to do research."

"I thought Gallifrey was destroyed," Jack said.

The Doctor nodded. "It is. Some clever person decided to build the Archives on another planet that only Timelords can gain entry too."

Jack looked up at the vast walls with tall shelves that had tons of boxes and files on them. The lights were automatic and turned on as they walked down the isles. The place was made of stone and had walkways a hundred metres high leading to other parts of the place. "How big is it?"

"It completely fills the planet." The Doctor explained. "Well it's not a very big planet, but it does the job." They walked down some more isles. "The archives have information on everyone born on Gallifrey. The Timelords like to document things so they thought it would be a good idea to write biographies about everyone on the planet from when they're born until they finally die."

Jack kept looking around. "This place is beautiful. Ianto would love it." They kept walking. "If only Timelords can come here. Are you the only one that can be here?"

The Doctor nodded. "Me, Ianto once we get him back and anyone else who has been hiding via Chameleon Arch." They rounded a corner and went towards a giant computer. "Obviously it would be hard to find a single file in all of this, so they installed computers. The screen switched on and immediately asked for username and password. "Now can I remember my login?" He mumbled to himself. It took five attempts to get it right and then it took him straight to the home screen where it told him to search for information.

"Do you think it would recognise Ianto's name?" Jack asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "No. He only got that name when he found himself on earth. A picture wouldn't work since he could've regenerated."

"What could we use?" The immortal asked.

The Doctor held up the Watch. "It still has the manufacture code at the bottom. Should give us enough to start with." He entered the code into the search bar. 32 out of 2373972733373890 results came up. "Not too hard, then."

Jack whistled. "That's a lot."

"Yes." The Doctor agreed. "Not as much as there was before the first great time war though. There were around 5 Quattuordecillion of them. Plus a photocopy of each scattered around the universe in case of an attack.

Jack sat down on one of the dusty wooden benches lining a bit of the wall as the Doctor clicked on the 32 results one by one. "Timelords are so organised. I should bring Ianto next time."

"Yes, you should." The Doctor agreed. "He clicked on the second to last one and found what he was looking for. Jack couldn't read it as it was in Gallifreyan, so the Doctor translated it. "It looks like a receipt. It was brought by a person called Astana. One Watch for a hundred years worth of regeneration energy. It looks like it was brought on the Black Market about 157 years ago. Time is different this side of the universe so on earth; It would be around 1983. Roughly."

"Gallifrey has a black market?" Jack was surprised.

"Of course we do. We invented it." He told the other man. The Doctor then searched up Astana, but nothing came up. "Jack, give me information about Ianto. It might help."

Jack sighed. "He worked for Torchwood One before he came to work for Cardiff. Looks good in a suit. Born August 1983... Do you think that person is connected?"

The Doctor sighed. "Probably." He clicked around on the computer. "The name's in code, Jack. Buying or selling on the Black Market could get you sentenced for three lifetimes. I bet the name is an acronym. Very popular around the time, I was a teenager." He leant back and closed his eyes as if trying to remember something. They sat there in silence for twenty minutes until the Doctor sprang up and started typing into the search engine. "Astana. It's the name of a lunchtime school club some people younger then us ran. They named the club after the first initial of their last names. If I remember correctly, the leader called herself Bete Sonata or commonly known as The Teacher. "He typed her name in, and a few searches came up."

"Do you think she's the one that brought it?" Jack asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. There were six people in the group, so it won't be hard to look for them." The Doctor said. He pointed at the screen. "There's the list on names. Beta Sonata, Omega Septiana, Tori Amnu, Terri Amnu, Gem Torvic and Abelia Acia." He typed them all in, and it appeared five of them were still of Gallifrey when the last time war broke out, but one had gone missing 157 years beforehand. "Omega Septiana. It adds up Jack like a Jigsaw puzzle."

"It seems too easy," Jack stated. 

The Doctor nodded. "You're right Jack. Nothing we can't handle though." He grinned and wrote down some of the information. "We can come back if we get Iantos Gallifreyan name. Or maybe we won't have too, and Omega will tell us all about it."

"Problem is, we have to find her," Jack told him. They both rushed up to the Tardis and rushed off into the stars to try and find Omega Septiana so they could save Ianto.


	3. Across the Universe

"Doctor, where are we supposed to look? She could be anywhere." Jack said while holding on tight to the console. The Tardis kept bumping into the vortex walls which kept throwing the two men around.

The Doctor pressed some buttons and turned the screen around so he could check something. "Trial and error really. I think the Tardis has some idea where to go, but other than that, I have no idea."

Jack sighed. It was going to be a long night. Or day. It depends on how you see it. He didn't know how long it would take, but he would wait a thousand years to get Ianto back if it wasn't too late by then. Jack didn't want to think about what he would do if it didn't work, so he shook the thought from his head. Just like the Tardis was flying through the vortex, Memories flew in and out of the immortals' mind. Memories from his childhood. Playing in the sand dunes on the Boeshane peninsula with his little brother Gray. Memories of when he joined the time agency. They were meeting the Doctor for the first time. Fighting gasmask zombies and dancing to Glen Miller. He remembered the last moments of mortality. Being cornered by Daleks and then being exterminated. Teleporting and getting stuck in the 1800s. Joining Torchwood, or being forced to join Torchwood. Meeting people, losing people, dying over a thousand times and so on.

Jack felt a hand on his shoulder, and he came back in focus. He saw the Doctor looking at him with slight concern. "We landed nearly 45 seconds ago, Jack."

Jack let go of the console and itched his ear. "I know. I'm just tired."

The Doctor nodded. "You only woke up a few hours ago."

"Not that kind of tired Doctor," Jack said. "Where are we?"

The Time Lord walked to the door with one hand in his pocket. His other hand opened the door, and he poked his head out of it. He came back inside the Tardis. "About 30,937 years in the future. Right at the edge of the universe. About the only area in the universe not yet explored by human beings at this time.

Jack made his way the door and stepped out. The Doctor followed him and soniced the air. "Does the planet have a name yet?"

The Doctor looked at the readings on his screwdriver. "Not that I know. It looks like this place once had life on it. Must have died out a few hundred years ago. Not completely deserted though. The Sonic is picking up a few hundred life signs a mile away."

The planet looked dead. The ground was pure dirt with a few moss-covered rocks dotted about the place. They occasionally came across an old bush or a tree stump. It wasn't completely silent as the wildlife hadn't quite died out yet, but they didn't cross a single puddle or flower or anything that could sustain life. Jack decided there and then that he didn't like this place, he would welcome it when they could get away. One thought stayed in his mind. He was doing this for Ianto, and if he had too, he would cross the battlefields of Skaro just to help him.

The landscape surprisingly changed when they reached the mile checkpoint. There was nothing there, but both of the men felt the perception filter that was hiding what was inside. Jack held his hand up to where he thought the wall was, and his fingers touched something. "Doctor, there's some sort of a fence here." He said.

"Yeah, you're right." The Doctor replied. He Soniced along the 'fence' until the screwdriver detected a gate. He managed to get it open though not very wide, so they had to squeeze through. Expectedly, the two of them were looking down the barrel of 13 different space guns. The people behind them were wearing camouflage uniforms along with helmets. Each and every one of them had stern faces, so it looked like none of them would take any excuses. The Doctor and Jack held their hands up. Nobody spoke, but two of the soldiers indicated that they should follow them, so they did without fuss. Both Jack and the Doctor was going through varies scenarios in their heads.

There was life this side of the perception filter. Houses lined the pavements and the roads. Cars were parked in the neat driveways, and front gardens were filled with fruit trees, lush green bushes and purple-pink posies that gave the houses colour. Just past the houses were the big skyscrapers made of glass and steel. They turned a corner, and the streets were now filled with shops, restaurants, cafes and parks. Small children in dungarees were playing on the road with their hula-hoops and skipping ropes. The older children were sitting on walls with others their age just hanging out. Jack was slightly confused with the lack of technology and any indication this was a different planet in a different time. He caught the older man's eye, and it was confirmed at he too was just as confused. Something was going on.

The soldiers finally lead them to the other side of the city. This part wasn't as nice as the other part. The streets were narrow, and instead of being filled with laughing children, they were filled with hungry barking dogs and criminals. Quite by chance, this was where the hospital, fire station, police station and the army buildings were located. They were lead to the police station, past the front desk and into an interrogation room. The soldiers left them, and a few minutes later, a policewoman with short blonde hair came in.

"Who are you, and how did you get in?" She asked them bluntly.

The Doctor reached into his pockets and took out his psychic paper. "I'm the Doctor; this is my partner Captain Jack Harkness…"

Jack gave him a look. "Professional partner." He stated before the policewoman got the wrong idea in her head.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Right. Shall I start that again? I'm The Doctor; this is my Professional partner Captain Jack Harkness." He emphasised professional. "We stumbled across this planet quite by accident. Can you tell us what happened?"

The policewoman shrugged. "If you mean what happened outside the perception filter than I don't know. I don't know what's outside. Until you two showed up, I didn't know there was outside until I read the report."

The Doctor leant back in his chair, and he put his feet up on the table. "Why are we here?" 

"I was hoping you'd tell us that." She held out her hand. "My names DC Jolene Brown by the way."

The Doctor smiled. "Nice to meet you, DC Brown." He turned to look at Jack. "I've never known you to be so quiet, Jack."

Jack stood up to get some water from a jug in the corner. He ignored the Doctors comment and looked directly at Jolene Brown. "I assume you know the history of this place. Everything outside is dead apart from this city."

Jolene looked alarmed. "We didn't get taught history in school." She saw the two men's face drop. "But they're a few things that I do know. All part of being in the police force and everything."

"Go on." Jack egged her.

"A thousand or so years ago, there was a legend of a woman in nothing but rags who came to this planet. Back then, the only people here were a few colonies from different places. A man from one of the colonies was out to get firewood, and from a distance, he saw the woman get attacked by a bear. He went up to her, but by the time he reached her, she was dead. He tried to save her, but she was gone. But that's what he thought. A moment later, she let out this golden light, and she was gone but in her place was a child." She told them.

The Doctor leant forward and was almost falling off his chair. "What happened next? Where's the child now?"

Jolene's radio crackled, but she didn't answer it. "The legend gets all twisted after that." She told them. "As for the child. I'm afraid that information is confidential."

Jack was at the table in a flash. "Have you ever loved anyone, DC Brown?" He asked her dryly.

"Yes." She answered bluntly.

Jack continued. "And if they were in trouble, would you do anything to save them?"

Jolene nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Jack." The Doctor warned him.

Jack knew this line of interrogation wouldn't get him anywhere. He stood back and sighed. "What's the child's name? it's important to trust us."

The Doctor took over. "And we can help your people with whatever problem you have here."

It took a minute before DC Jolene Brown to agree. "If I lose my job, I'm having your heads." She muttered. Jolene stood up and paced out of the windowless room. She came back a moment later with a few files, and she placed them on the table. "The person in question is in a private room for her safety. Only a few people know about her and that she can change her body." She took a few photos out of her file. "Her name was lost in translation, so we call her 0 Seven."

Jack looked at the Doctor. "Lost in translation. This could be Omega Septiana."

"Could be." The Doctor said. "But whoever she is, she obviously hasn't used a Chameleon Circuit."

Jolene cut in. "She's ill. She doesn't talk, but I think you two know something so before we go anywhere, I want answers."

Jack inwardly groaned, and the Doctor spoke. "She went to my school, that's all. We think she can help Jacks boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend, Doctor," Jack told him pointedly.

"What do you call it then?" The Doctor asked him.

Jack walked towards the door. "Ianto and I don't do labels. Now can we go?"

Jolene led the two of them to the front desk so she could get her keys. "Come on then. The hospital is only down the road."

They took the five-minute walk to the hospital, and with a bit of convincing the guards, they went up to the ward where the hidden time lady was. The Doctor went straight up to her and took her hand. He spoke in Gallifreyan so Jack and Jolene didn't know what was being said, but she was responding to whatever he was saying. Ten minutes of Time Lord conversation later, The Doctor went up to Jack and DC Brown and spoke to them. "I have everything we need Jack. It turns out that Omega is one of my many cousins. Ianto is her son. She ran away from the war and saved him. And she told me exactly how we can save him too which is just what we came here for."

Jack smiled the widest smile he had given for a long while. "The best news I've heard all day." He went up to Omega and held her hand. "Thank you." He whispered, and she gave him a small smile before she closed her eyes. She stopped breathing, and the heart monitor beeped. Jack looked up at the Doctor and he walked towards the bed.

"She's dead, Jack." He said sadly. "She told me these were her last moments."

Jolene went up to them. "Is there a tradition amongst your people sir?" He asked the Doctor. 

"We have to burn the body. And within 12 hours of when they die." He told her. 

She nodded and went to talk to the guards. 

Jack and the Doctor stayed around for a few hours. Omega Septianas funeral was held in the city centre and the Doctor set the body alight. People came to show respect even though they didn't know what was going on. Jack stayed off at one side so he wouldn't get in the way. He had seen enough death lately and didn't want to deal with anymore until he had his beautiful Ianto Jones back. Once the Funeral was over, Jack walked to where the Doctor and Jolene were talking.

"So what do you think is wrong with this place?" Jolene asked.

The Doctor took out his sonic and pointed it up into the air. "This perception field is stopping you from progressing with time." The Sonic took the perception filter off. "Simple. Now we'll be off."

The Doctor and Jack started on their way but Jolene stopped them. "Doctor, Jack." They turned around. "Thank you. I hope you get to save him."

Neither of them said anything but they smiled and nodded before restarting their walk to the Tardis.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked him.

The Doctor grinned. "We have everything we need Jack." He said. "We're going straight into the battlefield Captain. Probably the hardest part of the mission so far. We're going to get Ianto Jones." 


	4. A new time lord

The two of them ran into the Tardis, and the Doctor sped around the console to put in the coordinates for Ianto's time. The Tardis zoomed through the vortex and Jacks' heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. This was the moment when everything mattered. "Doctor, what's the plan?" He asked him.

The Doctor didn't say anything for a moment as he hadn't thought of a plan yet. "Um, well I'm landing the Tardis just after the 456 is gone but just before they take the bodies away. We can't be seen under any circumstances."

"I'm guessing we have to carry him to the Tardis?" Jack said. The Doctor nodded in confirmation. "And try out the watch?"

"Yeah." He pressed some buttons. "Omega told me it's a difficult process." 

  
Jack looked at his friend. "Going off the subject a little. Ianto is related to you." He stated.

  
The Doctor smiled. "Yes, he is. Not really surprising though. I had a big family."

  
The atmosphere in the Tardis dropped slightly. "Bringing Ianto back is just as important for you then it is for me then?"

  
The Doctor sighed. "I never knew him. Omega ran away before his name was added to the data banks."

  
"So he never existed on Gallifrey?" Jack said. "All he knows is how to be human."

  
"And isn't that amazing, Jack?" The Doctor asked. "He got to have a childhood that no one on Gallifrey could even imagine."

  
Jack was about to answer, but the Tardis landed. "This is it then."

  
The two of them gave each other a small glance before they headed off towards the door. The Doctor stepped outside, and Jack followed him out. It looked like they had landed just outside the room where Thames house lay. There were no soldiers keeping guard in the room, so they were either outside the building, having a break or about to walk into the two of them getting Ianto's body out. Being as quiet as possible, Jack led the Doctor down the rows of the dead until they reached the place where Ianto was. The bag next to him was obviously empty, seeing as that was the bag he had been laying in not so long ago. It only took a minute for Jack to struggle Ianto out of the body bag. He then carried him bridal style all the way back to the Tardis. Before the Doctor managed to open the Tardis door, the footsteps of many soldiers were heard running up the stairs and along the corridor towards them. Jack carried Ianto all the way to his room and laid him on the bed. He took his lovers shoes off and placed them by the wardrobe. He hated seeing Ianto like this. All cold and not moving. Not an ounce of life in him. 

  
The Doctor came in not long after with the watch. "Got a bit held up there. They were probably sent up to shout at me for not helping with the child-snatching alien."

  
"I never asked." Jack started. "Do you know what species the 456 is?"

  
The Doctor shook his head. "I've come across them before. A long time ago." He took his coat off and threw it into the floor. "They were trying to find the right chemical for something."

  
"Well, it looks like they found it," Jack told him.

  
"I've alerted the Shadow Proclamation anyway. Number one criminal in the universe for drug trafficking." The Doctor said. "Anyway, back to business."

  
Jack looked towards Ianto. "Tell me what I have to do."

  
The Doctor handed him the pocket watch. "Ianto himself can only open the watch, so you're going to have to help him.

  
"Ok," Jack said as he wrapped Ianto's hand around the watch and wrapped both his hands around Ianto's. "I hope this works."

  
"So do I." The Doctor said truthfully. "It might help if you think about him while doing it. Then the watch can sense him."

  
Jack closed his eyes and tried to think about a few good memories with Ianto. He decided there were way too many. In the end, he found the perfect one…

  
… "Ianto, are you ready?" Jack asked as he poured champagne into two wine glasses. "There's only ten minutes left until we say goodbye to 2007."

  
Ianto climbed the stairs to Jacks office with two mugs of coffee. "Why don't we have our last coffee this year?"

  
Jack smiled and put the glasses of champagne down. "Is coffee all you ever think about?"

  
Ianto gave Jack his mug. "I don't think about coffee all the time. There are much more interesting things to think about."

  
Jacks smile turned into a grin. "What could possibly be more interesting then Coffee."

  
"Well at the moment, my main thought is to try and get you not to be terrified of the hub every New Year's eve." The younger man told him.

  
Jack put the coffee cup down, and Ianto did the same. "So I'm going to assume that you plan on making new memories?" He said.

  
"That was my plan, yes." Ianto pulled Jack into a hug. "Is it working?" He whispered into Jack's ear.   
"Sort of," Jack whispered back.

  
Ianto pulled back and headed over to the old fashioned gramophone that had come through the rift a few weeks ago. Between it falling through the rift and now, Ianto had brought a few records from an antique shop. With only seven minutes to midnight, the hub was filled with music. More specifically, the Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller. He went back over to Jack and held out his hand. "May I have this dance, sir?"

  
"Ok, it's definitely working now." He took hold of Ianto's hand, and they both began to dance along to the music.

  
"What were the 1940s like Jack?" Ianto asked him softly.

  
Jack thought for a minute. "Half beautiful and terrifying at the same time. I used to go to parties and dance to this song."

  
Ianto gave a soft sigh. "I wish I could see it." He paused. "Not the blitz though."

  
"I'll take you," Jack told him. "Someday."

  
They danced until the song ended and the countdown started on the TV. The New Year began, and the two of them kissed passionately…

  
  
Jack opened his eyes with a small smile on his lips. He helped Ianto open the watch, and a misty golden light streamed out. It made Ianto glow for a moment before disappearing. "Did it work?" He asked the Doctor. 

  
The Doctor's eyes were filled with uncertainty as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know." 

  
Jack sat on the side of the bed and retook his hand. He checked his pulse and then looked up at the Doctor. "Do you have your stethoscope on you?" He asked the Timelord. The Doctor handed it to him, and Jack checked to see if Ianto had a heartbeat or should he say heartbeats. There it was. He grinned. "It worked. Doctor, it actually worked." He stood up and threw his arms around him. "Thank you."

  
"I did promise you didn't I." The Doctor told him. "It might take a while for him to wake up, though."  
Jack stepped back and looked at Ianto lovingly.

"That's fine. I'll stay with him until he does."

The Doctor nodded and went to the door. "Call me if anything changes." He put his hand on the handle. "Oh and Jack, make sure you look after yourself as well."

Jack nodded. "Will do."

Jack stayed in that room for the next three days. He had a bottle of water ready for when Ianto woke up and told Ianto a few stories of his past. Not that Ianto could hear him, but it made the time pass. The Doctor came in every so often to make sure Jack was looking after himself. The Doctor would often come in with some food for him because he knew Jack wouldn't leave Ianto's side even if he were forced too. On the fourth day, Ianto woke up. Jack was halfway through a story about the moon landing in 1969 when Ianto's eyes opened. Jack stopped talking and helped Ianto upright. He handed him the bottle of water.

The older man didn't know what to say. "Um, nice to see you back Ianto."

Ianto looked at him, confused. "Where did I go?" He paused for a second. "Wait a minute, aren't I supposed to be dead?"

Jack thought about how he was going to explain it. "You were dead, but you're not now."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I can see that, Jack."

Jack gave him a small smile. "It would be easier if I started from the beginning." So Jack explained everything, from when he discovered the pocket watch right up until Ianto woke up.

Ianto smiled weakly up at Jack. "Sounds like you've been busy."

Both of them were quiet for a moment. "Did you mean what you said?" Jack asked him. "Back in Thames House. Did you mean it?"

Ianto took his hand and squeezed it. "Of course, I meant what I said, Jack. "

Jack opened his mouth and closed it again. Trying to work up the courage, was more challenging then he expected. "Just so you know. I love you too." He leant over and placed a small kiss on his head.

Sometime later, the Doctor came in. "Didn't I tell you to tell me when he woke up?"

"Well, I had to explain everything to him first," Jack told him. 

The Doctor sighed. "Well, it's good to see you back, Ianto Jones."

Ianto leant back on his pillows. "Does this mean I can go travelling in time and space with Jack?" He asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Your choice. By the way, I was told you're regeneration process is slightly wrong so you won't change into a new body."

"So I'll stay Welsh then?" The Doctor nodded. "That's good to hear."

The Doctor explained to them that Ianto had to stay in bed for the next few weeks so he could heal properly. The reason was that the fob watch let out a lot of energy to resurrect him so it would leave him pretty exhausted for a few weeks. In the meantime, The Doctor got the two of them their own Tardis, so they didn't have to bother with the Vortex Manipulator. Jack and Ianto spent the time planning what to do with eternity. Jack wanted to show his lover so many wonderful places, and they had all the time in the universe to do it in.

About three weeks later, Ianto was allowed out of bed, but he had to take it steady. The Doctor took them to a few planets where they went for short walks. They didn't bump into any hostile aliens with the plan to take over the universe, which in Jacks opinion, was a huge bonus.

"Do you think Myfanwy survived the explosion?" Ianto asked Jack. They were currently standing on earth in the late crustaceous period watching a few pteranodons flying about. 

"She was out when it exploded, so she's probably still alive," Jack told him. He went inside the Tardis for a second to check something with the Doctor. Ianto stayed outside with the Pteranodons. When Jack went outside again, he saw that one Pteranodon was getting relatively close to Ianto. He saw something in his hands—a chocolate bar.

"Jack," Ianto called. "I think I found out why Myfanwy likes chocolate."

"That's Myfanwy?" Jack asked.

Ianto grinned. "I think so," Ianto answered. "She has the same shaped wings as Myfanwy."

Time went by, and Ianto was fully recovered. The Doctor said goodbye to them and dropped them off at their own Tardis. It was a good thing Jack knew how to fly a Tardis. It wasn't as big as the Doctor's because it was only a type 20, but they managed. 

"So then Ianto Jones." Jack started. "Where do you want to go?"

Ianto grinned. "London in the 1940s."

Jack pressed buttons and pulled levers. "Your wish is my command." They flew around in the vortex for a few minutes. It turned out that Jack is a much better flyer then the Doctor. Soon enough, they landed. Jack took Ianto's hand, and they made their way towards the door. "Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?"

Ianto looked at his partner and took a deep breath. "As long as I'm with you, Jack, I'm always ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think it's alright left like this?


End file.
